Collapsible safety helmet



I INVENTOR.

zAoa/fJo/wm/A/a/c Nov. 21, 1967 L. .1. CRINCIC COLLAPSIBLE SAFETY HELMETFiled Dec. 6, 1965 United States Patent 3,353,188 COLLAPSIBLE SAFETYHELMET Laddie John Crincic, 314 Fayette Ave., Belle Vernon, Pa. 15012Filed Dec. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 511,934 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-3) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A collapsible safety helmet is formed from a plurality ofsuperimposed horizontal sections that are detachably connected togetherso that they can be separated from one another. Each section is smallerthan the section below it so that the separated sections can be nestedto form a compact unit for carrying or storage.

In most construction work, especially in steel con-- struction, theworkers are required to wear safety helmets to protect their headsagainst accidental injuries. They are generally issued such helmets aspart of their safety equipment. Other employees and personnel visitingthe jobs likewise are required to wear safety helmets while they are inthe construction areas. Some carry their own helmets, but they arerather bulky and awkward to carry around from one location to anotherwhen not being worn. Others rely upon helmets issued by the employers,but that often results in delays, embarrassment and even a sanitaryproblem because safety codes generally require that all safety headgearbe sterilized before being worn by another person.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a safety helmet,which gives as much protection as the conventional type, but which canbe collapsed to form a compact unit thatcan readily be carried around bythe owner when he is not wearing the helmet.

in accordance with this invention the helmet has a hard convex shelladapted to fit over the head and pro vided inside with the usual hammockor suspension unit, by which the shell is supported on the head. Theshell is formed from a plurality of independent, substantially rigidsections that normally are mounted on top of each other. Means areprovided for detachably connecting the sections together. The majorportion of any section is smaller than the inside diameter of thesection supporting it, so that when the sections are disconnected fromeach other they can be nested to form a compact unit that will fit in arelatively thin case. For best results, the shell is formed from threesuperimposed sections, which are normally held together by interengagingprojections and recesses associated with inwardly offset members joinedto the upper part of a section and engaging the inner surface of thesection above.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of my helmet;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view;

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken on the line IV1V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section showing in detail howthe sections of the helmet are connected; and

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section showing the helmet collapsed.

Referring to the drawings, the helmet has a conventional appearance, themain body being a hard convex shell 1, generally molded from a plasticwhich may be reinforced with layers of fabric embedded in it. The shellresembles an inverted bowl that will receive the head without touchinit. The bottom of the shell turns outwardly and may have an encirclingbrim, or it may be provided at the front with a visor, more like a cap.

It is a feature of this invention that the helmet shell is formed from aplurality of independent sections mounted on top of each other anddetachably connected together so that they can be separated whendesired. There can be two or more sections. Three sections 2, 3 and 4are preferred, because tWo sections leave the helmet, when collapsed,still rather thick, while more than three sections appear to beunnecessary. Sections 2 and 3 are annular and section 4 has a dome-likeshape. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a conventional suspension unit 5 isdetachably connected in any suitable manner to anchors 6 inside thelower section 2 and extends up into the shell, where it will fit overthe head and space it from the top of the shell.

For connecting the three shell sections together, it is preferred toprovide the upper parts of the bottom and middle sections with inwardlyoffset members 8 and 9, respectively, that extend a short distance upinto the sections above them in engagement with the inner surfaces ofthose sections as shown in FIG. 4. There may be several independentoffset members joined to each shell section, but it is better to haveonly one such member for each section and to make it in the form of anarrow flange extending entirely around the inside of the shell, withwhich it is integral. It will be seen that the lower flange 8 telescopesinto the bottom of the middle shell 3, and the upper flange 9 telescopesinto the bottom of the top shell 4. Consequently, the two flangesprevent lateral movement of the sections relative to one another andthereby keep them in proper alignment so that the outside of the shellwill be smooth at the joints.

In order to lock the shell sections together so that in use they willnot separate vertically, the outer surface of each upwardly projectingflange and the inner surface of the surrounding section are providedwith interengagin-g projections and recesses. In order not to weaken theshell, it is preferred that the recesses 11 (FIG. 5), which are smalldepressions, be formed in the flanges at laterally spaced points aroundthem. The projections 12 then are joined to the surrounding innersurfaces of the shell sections and fit into the recesses. To facilitatemolding of the shell sections, it is preferred that the projections beformed as the inner heads of rivets 13 extending through the sections.Wear on the rivet heads, due to snapping into and out of the recesses,can be reduced by using metal rivets. There is no danger of metal rivetsconducting electricity to the head of the wearer in case they come incontact with live wires, because the rivets are spaced by the plasticflanges 8 and 9 from the head.

The shape of the shell must be such that the major portions of itsmiddle and top sections are smaller than the inside diameters of itsbottom and middle sections, respectively, so that the three sections canbe nested as will be explained presently. This, of course, requires thatthe shell taper upwardly. However, in order for the rivet heads andrecesses to perform their locking function, the amount of taper of theshell at the levels of the recesses must not be so great that the rivetswill seat in the recesses by merely dropping the shell sections inplace. Rather, the taper must be steep enough to require the sections tobe telescoped with some force in order to cause their lower portions toyield or spring out slight- .ly so that the rivets can slide down theouter surfaces of the two flanges and snap into the recesses. That willlock the three sections together.

When the helmet is not in use, it can be collapsed into a compact unitby first removing the suspension unit and then striking the top sectionof the shell from the inside with the fist to cause it, and possibly themiddle section,

to separate from the remainder of the shell as shown in FIG. 5. Themiddle sectionthen can be pulled away from either the top section or thebottom section, depending upon which one it remained with. With thebottom section of the helmet shell inverted as shown in FIG. 6, themiddle section is dropped into it and then the top section is droppedinto the middle section to form a nest of three shell sections. Theflexible suspension 5 can be laid in this nest. It will be seen thatinstead of having a complete safety helmet with a high crown, one nowhas a compact unit, perhaps only a couple of inches thick. This unit canbe slipped into a bag, a special thin carrying case, or even into abrief case for storage and carrying around. To assemble the helmet, theupper section is telescoped over flange 9, and the middle section istelescoped over flange 8. The three sections are pushed together untilthey seat, with projections 12 disposed in recesses 11. The suspension 5then can be installed and the unitary helmet is ready for use.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. A collapsible safety helmet comprising a hard con vex shell adaptedto fit over the head and formed from three independent substantiallyrigid sections normally mounted on top of one another, said sectionsincluding a dome-like top section and two annular sections beneath itwith the lower edge of the top section seating on the exterior upperportion of the middle section and with the lower edge of the middlesection seating on the exterior upper portion of the bottom section toform a smooth outer surface for the shell, the middle and top sectionsbeing smaller than the inside diameters of the tom and middle sectionsbeing provided with upwardly projecting inwardly offset flanges engagingthe lower part of the inner surface of the sections resting on 'saidbottom and middle sections to prevent relative lateral movement of thedifferent sections, the outer surface of each. flange being providedwith a plurality of laterally spaced recesses, and the inner surface ofeach section adjacent each recess being provided with projectionsnormally seated in the recesses in that flange to lock the sectionstogether, and said sections having just enough resiliency to permit saidprojections to snap vertically out of said recesses when the sectionsare manually pulled apart vertically to separate them, whereupon themiddle section can be nested in the bottom section and the top sectioncan be nested in the middle section to form a collapsible compact unit.

2. A collapsible safety helmet according to claim 1, in which saidprojections are formed by the heads of rivets mounted in said sections.

3. A collapsible safety helmet according to claim 2, including asuspension unit removably mounted in said bottom section.

References Cited UNITED" STATES PATENTS 563,175 6/1896 Hirschberg 2171.6 1,035,209 8/1912 Matson 2 171.1 2,397,722 4/1946 Bowers 2-82,855,604 10/1958 Austin 2 ,3 3,030,632 4/1962 Shelton 2-2093 3,176,3144/1965 Perry 2-3 3,295,536 1/1967 Shaw et al. 2 171.1 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,053,195 3/1959 Germany.

10,531 1/1900 Sweden.

HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner.

1. A COLLAPSIBLE SAFETY HELMET COMPRISING A HARD CONVEX SHELL ADAPTED TOFIT OVER THE HEAD AND FORMED FROM THREE INDEPENDENT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGIDSECTIONS NORMALLY MOUNTED ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER, SAID SECTIONS INCLUDINGA DOME-LIKE TOP SECTION AND TWO ANNULAR SECTIONS BENEATH IT WITH THELOWER EDGE OF THE TOP SECTION SEATING ON THE EXTERIOR UPPER PORTION OFTHE MIDDLE SECTION AND WITH THE LOWER EDGE OF THE MIDDLE SECTION SEATINGON THE EXTERIOR UPPER PORTION OF THE BOTTOM SECTION TO FORM A SMOOTHOUTER SURFACE FOR THE SHELL, THE MIDDLE AND TOP SECTIONS BEING SMALLERTHAN THE INSIDE DIAMETERS OF THE SECTIONS SUPPORTING THEM, THE UPPERPARTS OF THE BOTTOM AND MIDDLE SECTIONS BEING PROVIDED WITH UPWARDLYPROJECTING INWARDLY OFFSET FLANGES ENGAGING THE LOWER PART OF THE INNERSURFACE OF THE SECTIONS RESTING ON SAID BOTTOM AND MIDDLE SECTIONS TOPREVENT RELATIVE LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS, THE OUTERSURFACE OF EACH FLANGE BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY LATERALLY SPACEDRECESSES, AND THE INNER SURFACE OF EACH SECTION ADJACENT EACH RECESSBEING PROVIDED WITH PROJECTIONS NORMALLY SEATED IN THE RECESSES IN THATFLANGE TO LOCK THE SECTIONS TOGETHER, AND SAID SECTIONS HAVING JUSTENOUGH RESILIENCY TO PERMIT SAID PROJECTIONS TO SNAP VERTICALLY OUT OFSAID RECESSES WHEN THE SECTIONS ARE MANUALLY PULLED APART VERTICALLY TOSEPARATE THEM, WHEREUPON THE MIDDLE SECTION CAN BE NESTED IN THE BOTTOMSECTION AND THE TOP SECTION CAN BE NESTED IN THE MIDDLE SECTION TO FORMA COLLAPSIBLE COMPACT UNIT.